Travel Resources

It’s no secret, planning a trip can be pull-you-hair-out stressful.

From finding flights to researching the best part of town to stay, it’s enough to make you want to crawl into your bed and snuggle in your blankets. Fret not, I put together a list of our go-to travel resources to take the guesswork and stress out of where to find information when planning a trip. The companies mentioned below are companies that we frequently use for traveling. I listed them because we have great experiences with them and are excited to share them with you!

psst: This post contains affiliate links. If you use links from this post to make purchases, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. It’ll help keep the ‘lights on’, so-to-say, for Headed Anywhere.

Airfare

Broad Search

Kayakis one of the first sites I check to see what airfares are like. I like it because I can see multiple airlines at once and has a price predictor telling you if you should hold off on buying or buy now.

Flexible Location

Momondo is another site a check, especially when I know I have dates I want to travel, but not a destination in mind. It has a handy feature that let’s you search for flights by departure city and date, and the arrival city is listed as ‘Take Me Anywhere’. Pretty cool!

Domestic USA

I use Southwest most often to fly within the US. They usually have really good rates and the service is friendly and welcoming. They also have this wonferful thing called the Companion Pass, which allows a travel companion fly free with you once you’ve earned it!

To SFO

Virgin America (Alaska Air) has the most reliable service between San Diego and San Francisco, in my experience. Even if they have severe delays, the flights usually aren’t cancelled.

Accommodation

Like-a-local

AirBNB provides a unique option for staying in a destination. It connects you with locals that rent out their home or apartment for a fraction of what it costs to stay in a hotel. If you are a first time AirBNB user, use this link to save even more money. People who sign-up for AirBNB will get $40 off their first stay, and I’ll get a travel credit at no extra cost to you.

Best Rates

Booking.com is a great resource to compare search hotels and other accommodation. I have found they consistenly have lower prices than other sites similar to them.

Asia Lodging

Agoda.com is a great site to search for accommodation in Asia. I first learned of it when we traveled to Thailand and booked amazing places through the site.

All-Around

Tripadvisor is my go-to place to read reviews and also read the forums. I find the forums most helpful in helping me determine what areas to stay and then use the reviews to narrow it down further.

Travel Gear

Luggage

The Osprey Porter 46L is our go to back for traveling. It allows us the freedom to travel carry-on only and the flexibility to travel through crowds and precarious situations with ease. Read our review here.

Packing Cubes

Packing cubes are a life-saver. They help make it so much easier to find items quickly in our larger bag. Packing cubes also make it a lot harder to have a scary unorganized bag.

Daypack

Osprey’s Daylite Backpack is an excellent option for your under the seat bag. It’s roomy enough to fit my photo gear and other inflight essentials. Plus it then acts as our day packs when we are out in the city or on a hike.

Travel Books

Whenever we go on a longer trip, we order a Lonely Planet Guide to help with our research. It helps centralize pertinent information that we can then use as a jumping point to do further research online.

Power Adapter

An adapter is a necessity for international travel. While I don’t have this exact one (couldn’t find it online), this one is pretty similar. Bonus that it has USB plugs.

Portable Juice

The Jackery External Charger was a life saver when I was in Japan. It has enough juice for at least two full charges of an iPhone 6s. I always have this when I travel.

Catch some zzz’s

OKAY, this travel pillow looks ridiculous. I joke about it looking like an elephant penis all the time. But it’s compact when rolled up and comfortable.

Outdoor Clothing

Patagonia is one of our all-time favorite outdoor clothing merchants. They make quality clothing while keeping sustainability in mind.

Hiking & Fitness

Athleta makes quality performance gear for women that I use for hiking as well. It can be hard finding cute hiking clothes, but Athleta alleviates the pain of searching.

Performance

Smartwool is one of my newest favorite brands for performance clothing. It’s on the pricier side, but the quality of their clothing coupled with fast drying, no stink material is totally worth it.

Photography

Mirrorless Camera

It’s rare that I don’t travel with my Sony Alpha 6500. It’s one of Sony’s newest mirrorless cameras. I love it for it’s portability and lightweight, which comes in handy for saving space. It’s a great camera for amatuer and semi-pro photographers.

Walk-around Lens

A camera is only as good as the lens you put on it. I opted for the E 16-70 mm F4 ZA OSS because it’s a high quality lens that hits a wide range of focal distances. It’s a wonderful walk-around lens.

Adventure Camera

I am pretty much obsessed with my GoPro. After a friend let me borrow theirs for our trip to Dominica, I was hooked. I can capture all the excitement from our excursions without worrying about damaging the camera. Read our tips for first time users here.

Portable Tripod

The Joby Gorilla Pod has served me well when traveling and at home. It’s a lightweight tripod solution that doesn’t take up much space in your luggage. It’s flexible legs wrap around fences, posts, poles etc. Setting up is also much faster than the traditional tripod.

iPhone 6S

I shoot enough photos on my iPhone 6S to consider it part of my photo gear. It’s great for times when I don’t have my other cameras handy or I want to be less conspicuous.

Durable Phone Case

My Lifeproof Fre phone case has allowed me to take photos in the rain without compromising image quality and worrying about damaging my phone. It also allows you to submerge your phone in water for up to an hour!

Blogging

Blog Themes

I use Elegant Theme’s Divi Theme as the framework for my blog and site. It offers a flexible and customizable way to create a beautiful site. I opted for the developer’s license to have lifetime access to all their themes, old and new.

Email Builder

I use ConvertKit to manage my email newsletter. They allow you to create email sequences, broadcasts, and tags with their easy user interface. Their customer service has been spectacular.

Web Host

I use Green Geeks to host our site. They provide excellent customer support for issues I haven’t been able to handle on my own. They also replace the amount of energy a website uses with 3 x’s that in wind power.

Content planning

I have tried so many planners to help me with my blog, but The Content Planner is the only one that has me consistently using it and getting me to a place that I want to be with Headed Anywhere.

Business of Blogging

I started blogging with stars in my eyes and after a couple years of no traction I wasn’t sure what to do. The Business of Travel Blogging Course has helped me to realize my blog is way more than a blog.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase using the link. If you are ready to buy travel gear or book your travel and would like to support this website in some way, using these links will help do exactly that. It's a win-win situation. If you have any questions about the products or companies, e-mail me and I'm happy to answer your questions.

PLAN BETTER.TRAVEL MORE.LIVE ADVENTUROUSLY.GET ON THE LIST.

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